Spisak's clutch 3 lifts Naperville Central over St. Charles East

Naperville Central's Emily Spisak felt pretty confident after releasing her 3-point attempt late in the game against St. Charles East Wednesday night.

"Once it left my hand, I knew it was going in," said Spisak, whose clutch outside shot with 2 seconds remaining helped lift the Redhawks (3-2) to their 55-53 nonconference girls basketball victory in St. Charles.

"This is the first time experiencing it - it's really exciting."

Sophomore Katlyn Allen, who paced the Redhawks with 16 points, recorded her fourth steal of the night and drew a foul with her team trailing 53-52 with 7.5 seconds left.

Allen missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but junior teammate Lauren Umbright corralled the offensive rebound and found Spisak (10 points) with a pass for the game-winner after the Saints misfired on their last-second half-court heave.

"I really thought Katlyn (Allen) was going to make them (free throws) - she was 7 for 8 at the time," said Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum. "It was a huge rebound by Lauren (Umbright). She has done that a lot for us.

"There was some pretty good high school basketball out there tonight. We maybe did one more thing right so we were fortunate to win."

Ashley DiOrio poured in a game-high 25 points, including four 3-point baskets, for the Saints (0-6) while senior teammate Emily Vitkus added 14 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman Torrie Kortan had 10 rebounds and 3 steals.

DiOrio and Vitkus sparked the Saints' late run, combining for all 12 of the team's fourth-quarter points.

Trailing 47-41 with 5:44 remaining, the Saints scored 7 unanswered points - capped by Vitkus' baseline jumper - to take a 48-47 lead with 2:33 left.

DiOrio's acrobatic 3-point play and a Vitkus layup off a feed from Kortan put the Saints on top 53-50 with 22 seconds remaining before Sara Opalka's putback pulled the Redhawks within 53-52 with 12 seconds left.

"I think both teams showed a lot of heart," said Nussbaum. "We're box-and-1 on DiOrio there and she makes a 3-point play."

DiOrio and Vitkus combined for 20 first-half points as the Saints led 31-28.

"It is (tough) but we certainly made progress and for a young team that's what we're looking for right now," said Saints coach Aubree Schuett. "It will all come together. Maybe it'll take a little bit longer than some other teams and programs but I was very proud of their effort tonight."

Before the game, Schuett presented Nussbaum, her former high school coach and stats teacher, with a T-shirt on Teacher Appreciation Night.

"I did not see that coming," admitted Nussbaum. "This is the first time in the regular season that I've coached against a former player. They've (the Saints) played some real good teams. They're much better than they were at the start of the season."

"'Nuss' is still doing the same stuff he was doing when I played for him - mixing up the defense and throwing different things at you," said Schuett. "I appreciate that because the more looks you can put in front of your team in competitive situations the better."

Karly Maida added 11 points for the Redhawks.